Death toll in Ramgarh truck accident rises to six as 2-year-old succumbs to injuries

The toll in the truck accident in Jharkhand's Ramgarh district rose to six with the death of a two-year-old child who was undergoing treatment, police said on Thursday.

Five people, including two women and a child, were crushed to death by the speeding coal-laden truck on the Ramgarh-Patratu state highway near Hehal village on Wednesday, while three others were critically injured, they said.

The driver of the truck has been arrested, they added.

Ramgarh's deputy commissioner Madhavi Mishra told PTI that a probe has been ordered and those found guilty would not be spared.

A senior official will head the probe panel to enquire under which circumstances the heavy vehicle entered a no-entry road, she said.

The deceased were identified as Priyanka Devi (30), her three-year-old daughter Priyanshu, Sajida Khatoon (35), Sanaullah Ansari (22), Alimun Nisha (45) and Tareeq Jameer (2). Those undergoing treatment at present are Ishrail Ansari ( 24) and Adiya Rawani who lost his wife and daughter in the accident, police said.

Patratu's sub-divisional police officer Birendra Kumar Chaudhary said the 12-wheeler truck was on way to Venkatesh Steel factory near Bhurkunda from Khalari in Ramgarh, but the driver seemed to have mistakenly taken a different road as all papers related to coal and vehicle were found to be valid.

Following the accident, hundreds of agitated villagers blocked the highway for about six hours, bringing traffic to a halt.